This I Gotta See
by LittleMissKD
Summary: An unexpected visitor comes to town and stirs things up... Shenanigans follow. First Big Bang fic! Shenny-centric with plenty of fun on the side! Better than it sounds, I think?
1. Chapter 1

Hello friends! Its been ages since I wrote anything at all and the first time I've written for something that isn't an anime. Needless to say this is my first foray into the deliciousness that is Shenny, but I'll do my best!

That being said, don't be alarmed by the first chapter – this is a Shenny-centric fic, but I wanted to introduce this new character before getting to plot things… mainly because I'm still thinking those things up. Chapter one is an exercise to see if I have it in me to do this and I hope I do! Constructive criticism and advice is always welcome!

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Big Bang Theory. Duh. But ohhhhh if I did….

* * *

><p>Penny trudged up the stairs of the apartment building, passing the broken elevator at each landing and silently cursing it. After a long, stressful shift at the Cheesecake Factory, she wanted nothing more than the luxury of being able to ride up to her apartment rather than subject her already sore feet to more pain. It had been a particularly awful night; some sleazy guy had hit on her and a child spilled a drink down the front of her denim skirt. At least she was off until laundry night.<p>

As she reached the fourth floor landing, she pulled her keys out of her bag and with a glance back to 4A, she remembered with some relief that the boys were off at a movie marathon of some sort. Something about aliens… she hadn't really been listening when they were attempting to explain it to her. All it meant was that she could go into her apartment, throw some grungy sweats on, and watch chick flicks with a good glass or three of wine.

She turned back around to insert her key into the lock but paused, looking back behind her. There was something outside of the boys' door and it definitely didn't look like a package.

'_The hell…?' _she wondered to herself at the sight of a mass of what she assumed to be a person sitting outside of her neighbors' apartment. Had that been there five seconds ago? It had to have been, she reasoned, because whatever, whoever it was seemed to be asleep.

'_Ok… maybe it's a hobo? Crazy hobo? Burglar? Don't panic… this is what junior rodeo was for,'_ she thought, tiptoeing over to the figure, briefly wondering if she should go retrieve her baseball bat first. Nah.

As Penny approached the sleeping figure she found that it was actually quite small, just made to look large with the luggage around it. Whoever it was, Penny could take it. Unless it had a gun. Reaching out cautiously with a sneakered foot, Penny nudged the figure a couple of times, eliciting nothing much other than a decidedly female and decidedly annoyed groan. Nudging a little harder, the woman was finally jarred awake… at least somewhat.

"Damn it, Mama, I said I was up!" she groaned in a thick southern drawl, peeling the hood of her sweatshirt off of her head to reveal a head of choppy, near-chin length brown hair and blue eyes that darted around to figure out where the hell she was.

"Can I help you with something?" Penny asked dryly, one eyebrow raised, no longer afraid of the small woman sitting on the floor. She had a feeling that this was going to be a big pain in the neck. To her credit, the girl looked somewhat embarrassed to have been caught sleeping.

"No. Not unless you know where these guys went off to," came a curt reply, accented as the girl jerked her thumb back towards the door of the boys' apartment.

Penny sighed. She hadn't planned on being dragged into another one of Leonard or Sheldon's issues but here she was. This one, with the looks and accent seemed to be Sheldon's problem despite her small stature. What was she going to be? Crazy former classmate? Redneck cousin? At the moment, Penny had her money on redneck cousin.

"Well, you'll be waiting awhile.. Might as well come in and wait," Penny offered, turning the key in her lock and inviting the other girl inside, hoping that she wouldn't come to regret that decision. "I'm Penny, by the way, Leonard and Sheldon's… neighbor."

"Oh, I've heard _a lot_ about you," came her amused response. That just sounded like trouble. "Hannah Cooper. Nice to meet'cha," the girl replied, standing up and slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder.

Penny was right about the relative thing. At least she wasn't a crazy neighbor or something. Didn't mean she wasn't crazy, but if she was at least it she would be Sheldon's responsibility when he got home.

When standing to her full height, Hannah was still at least a head shorter than Penny. Wasn't everyone in Sheldon's family freakishly tall? This girl was short. Like really short. Upon closer observation, though, she still had those Cooper traits – sharp features and big blue eyes.

Penny stopped her thought process at that and frowned slightly. When had she come to be an expert on 'Cooper traits'? Shaking her head she tossed her keys on the counter and her purse soon followed it. Her apartment was a mess, but that didn't seem to bother Hannah one bit as she brushed aside a few items of laundry to sit down on her blue couch.

"So, um… Hannah… You're related to Sheldon, then?"

"One might say he's my big brother, but I'm thinkin' about disowning him after this," she replied with a grin, her accent having faded into a slight twang now that she wasn't agitated.

Sheldon's other sister. Penny had never heard mention of her, but if she was anything like Missy then they were going to get along just fine.

"Hannah, can I offer you a glass of wine?"

"Oh Lord, yes please…"

Yes. Just fine.

Over the next couple of hours the two girls got to know each other. Penny dished about her crappy waitressing job and her aspirations to become an actress and Hannah spoke of her years at college. No, she was not some beautiful mind genius like her brother. She had a degree in history with a focus on art history. She started at 18 and it took her four years like a normal person. Penny could just hear Sheldon's voice in her head expressing his distaste for a 'liberal arts' degree in that derisive tone he used when talking about things unrelated to science or comic books.

She also found that they were the same age, with Penny being just a few months older. Thank God, that meant she hadn't offered alcohol to a minor. To pass the time until the boys returned, they drank, watched 'Almost Famous' and gossiped like old friends (after the second glass of wine) until they heard several sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.

The door to 4A opened and shut and that was when Penny's new friend got up, obviously ticked off. It was go time.

"I told him I was comin'! This is so typical," she muttered, throwing her duffel bag over her shoulder again to haul it across the hall.

Penny got up as well, because really, there was no way she was gonna miss this. Something like this would have Sheldon eating from the high fiber end of the shelf for the rest of the week. She stood in the doorway of her apartment as Hannah slammed her fist into the door several times. She watched in amusement as Sheldon opened it unperturbed… and then his eyes grew just a fraction bigger.

"Forgetting something?" Hannah sniped, glaring up at her brother. Penny still couldn't believe the height difference. Genetics really were weird. There must have been some short relatives somewhere else in that family.

"You know that's impossible, Hannah," came the predictable reply as the question sailed right over his head.

"Then what the hell, Shelly?" she pressed, leaning forward in a rather intimidating manner - which was impressive coming from such a small woman. A crowd had gathered behind the door now – Raj, Howard, and Leonard not wanting to miss a second of this either.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to be more specific."

"I told you when I was comin' so why weren't you home?"

"I was hoping you would give up and leave. Also, there was a marathon of the Alien vs. Predator movies."

"Don't you make me call Mama!"

That did it. Sheldon opened the door wider to allow his sister to step inside, pausing to spare Penny a glance. Penny grinned smugly back at him.

"Be nice, Sheldon!" she chirped, before turning to go back into her own apartment. When she heard the door across the hall shut she let out the giggles she'd been holding in. Sheldon? A big brother? She tried to imagine him as something like she'd had – teasing, protective… Penny stifled a snort. That image just did not compute.

Easing back down onto her couch, she picked up her abandoned wine glass and was about to turn the TV back on when she heard the door open and close again and what she assumed to be Raj and Howard scurrying down the stairs. She hadn't warned Hannah about them but from the sound of things she'd handled it just fine.

Penny turned her TV on and flipped to a re-run of America's Next Top Model with the feeling that things were going to get interesting pretty soon.

* * *

><p>And that's it for now! Reviews are appreciated and as I said before – constructive criticism as well!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! I finally managed to finish chapter two. It took awhile, but hey, I'm a senior in college so I do what I can!

Thank you to my two reviewers. The fact that anyone bothered to review this gives me hope. I would like to say that I am well aware that Sheldon does _not_ have a younger sister in the canon. Unfortunately, the character of Hannah invaded my brain and wouldn't leave me alone. That being said, I'd like to thank Dee Bradford for reminding me to warn everyone that this IS slightly AU because of her.

Also, I neglected to mention when this takes place. I'm going to say sometime in season 4, before the season finale.

Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own BBT, but I do own Hannah.

* * *

><p>A little less than a week had past since Hannah's arrival in Pasadena. She seemed to be settling in well and the thing that bothered Sheldon the most about this was that she was making herself perfectly at home on his leather couch. Depositing her dead skin cells all over his spot every. single. night. Thank goodness he'd had the foresight to purchase extra disinfectant during his last trip to the store.<p>

He had repeatedly asked her how long she was planning on staying, but to no avail. His questions were evaded and her constant presence was disrupting his schedule and making him incredibly uncomfortable. At least _Penny _made an effort…

"Are you going to stare at the door all day or can we go inside?" came Leonard's voice, derailing his current train of thought.

Sheldon turned the key in the lock, ignoring Leonard's tone and choosing not to tell him that it was physically impossible to stare at the door "all day" because his body would force his eyes to blink and if it didn't, his eyeballs would eventually dry out. No, he couldn't be bothered to explain it this time. Sheldon pushed the door open and deposited his keys in the bowl, finding a sight he had come to expect.

"Hey, bro," his sister twanged from the couch, knowing the exaggeration of her accent would push his buttons. Though she was glued to her laptop doing Spock-knows-what, she still managed to irk him.

"Oh, good, you're still here," Sheldon replied as he slid his messenger bag off his shoulders. "That was sarcasm," he added as if it were an afterthought and as if she wouldn't have gotten it had he not explained.

"Yeah, loud n' clear Shelly," came an equally dry response as she waved him off without looking up from her screen.

"Don't mind him, he's just cranky because it's Thursday," Leonard chimed in, following suit in unloading his bag onto the floor.

Leonard, for one, enjoyed this new houseguest. She was an experienced Sheldon handler and thus made his life just a little bit easier. If she wanted to sleep on the couch, she was welcome as far as he was concerned. There was that, and of course the fact that she was a rather attractive female.

"Sheldon, you got somethin' against Thursdays now?" she asked, finally looking up, more impressed than exasperated that her brother could have one more strange quirk.

Looking closely, Leonard noticed that she actually looked quite tired, or maybe stressed… probably both. He didn't know what she spent her days doing other than apparently occasionally hanging out with Penny, but it wasn't really his business. Sheldon was the only one who could really ask her, but he was so oblivious that he'd never figure out the right question to ask.

"No, just this Thursday," came his reply. Hannah grimaced and then proceeded.

"And… Why would that be exactly?" she asked, preparing herself for a lengthy, complicated lecture as to why this particular Thursday didn't seem to suit his fancy.

"It's 'Anything can happen Thursday'," was his surprisingly simple answer.

Bewildered by this, Hannah looked to Leonard for a translation. While she was almost fluent in Sheldonese, this one was new since she'd last seen him.

"Well, we're all so bound by Sheldon's routine," Leonard began, before being interrupted by a sniff of derision by the man in question. He paused for a moment to ensure that Sheldon was going to keep silent before continuing his explanation. "We wanted to do something different once in awhile, so one Thursday a month we break routine… thus 'Anything can happen Thursday'."

Hannah took in this new information and processed it for a second. Obviously this was something for Leonard, Raj, and Howard since she couldn't imagine her brother just going alone with this. Blue eyes looked her brother over and caught sight of the pizza menu in his hand. Sheldon's own blue eyes met hers and the stare-down began. Hannah broke eye contact first, her lips curling into a grin… or was that a smirk? That was definitely a smirk.

"Sounds fun, Leonard," she said, picking her phone up from the coffee table and drafting a quick text message to the boys' blonde neighbor.

_Anything can happen Thursday?_

_- H_

_Yeah… Don't feel obligated. Howard will probs try to get u to go to some shady club._

_- P_

… _What are your thoughts on whiskey and a Country Bar? Bet I could blackmail Shelly into going._

_- H_

_Be home in 15. This I gotta see._

_- P_

Hannah tossed her phone onto the couch cushion next to her and started cooking up her evil plot. Let Sheldon order his pizza. She'd need to eat something if she was going to be drinking whiskey later and she needed the time to figure out just how she was going to force him into going with on this little outing.

In the midst of her thoughts, Howard and Raj walked in the front door without knocking, bickering about some sci-fi show or movie or something that she didn't particularly care about. As soon as Raj caught sight of her, his voice caught in his throat and he was reduced to silence. Hannah felt bad for him, he seemed like a nice enough guy. Weird, obviously, but nice. Missy had told her about him last time they spoke. Howard, unfortunately, did not stop talking.

"Well hello there, my beautiful southern belle," he said in what he thought was some sort of deep, suave voice. When he was met with silence, he seemed to take that as an invitation to take it further rather than shut the hell up.

"You know, I'm really good at trick riding… If you're interested, maybe we could –"

"Finish that sentence, and I'm gonna break your nose and tell your girlfriend," Hannah snapped, daring him to go on. Howard looked as though he was considering the risks for a second before wisely backing off. What none of them saw was Sheldon gripping the phone just a little bit tighter as he ordered the pizza. There was a big brother in him somewhere, but no one knew it, not even him.

Leonard left to go get the Pizza around ten minutes later, leaving Hannah on the couch with her laptop and the boys engaged in an intense game of Jenga. The door swung open just as Raj was in the middle of a very delicate move. The sound combined with the sudden appearance of Penny caused Raj to startle and knock over the tower.

"Hey guys!" she chirped, shutting the door behind her. "Leonard getting the pizza?"

"Of course he's getting the Pizza, its Thursday," Sheldon replied, re-setting the tower carefully as Raj and Howard bickered over the legitimacy of the loss. Raj silently maintained that it was unfair, but seemed to be losing.

"Sorry I made you lose, Raj," Penny said, edging closer to the coffee table, watching Sheldon set the tower with a rather amused expression. Raj shrugged, finally accepting his loss.

"Don't be. He would have lost anyway – there is no way that move could have worked," Sheldon said as he set the last piece.

Raj frowned, obviously insulted, and whispered something into Howard's ear. "No, no, that would leave too much evidence," the engineer replied glancing back at Sheldon who, as usual, didn't seem to notice they were plotting his death.

"Hannah, move over. You're sitting in Penny's spot," Sheldon ordered suddenly, causing his sister to raise an eyebrow. Penny's spot? Since when did he care where others sat other than himself? Nonetheless, she complied despite Penny's protests that it wasn't necessary.

Hannah watched the two as Penny plopped down on the middle couch cushion. From the little she had observed over her near-week in Pasadena, Sheldon let Penny get away with a lot. Way more than she, a family member, or any of his older friends. It was fascinating that he had let another female into his life this easily. Her own mother spoke quite fondly of Penny, as if the two of them were good friends. Of course, Mary Cooper probably had her own hopes for the two of them but it would take a lot more observation before Hannah could say there was any chance in hell.

Penny caught Hannah's gaze as Howard and Sheldon engaged in the final Jenga showdown. Knowing all too well about Sheldon's Vulcan hearing capabilities, she settled for winking at the brunette who grinned in response. The bomb dropped after dinner. As Leonard arrived with the pizza, the wheels started turning in the youngest Cooper's mind.

As the last slice was polished off, Hannah cleared her throat. "So, what is everyone's plan for this anything can happen Thursday?" she asked innocently.

"I don't know… we usually just sort of wing it. That's part of the fun," Leonard replied with a shrug.

"Bernadette wants to go dancing, so probably to a club so these poor single schmucks can try to impress the ladies," Howard offered, smug that he had a girlfriend while his friends were all single.

"Well… howabout The Dirty Boot?" Penny suggested, knowing that it was a great country western sort of bar. She and her girlfriends had made many a bad decision there in the past.

"I've heard about that! Whiskey and line dancin' sounds great," Hannah added in an attempt to convince the three willing participants in the evening. She'd not actually heard of the bar, but trusted Penny to make a good decision.

Raj, Howard, and Leonard looked skeptical. "We're… not exactly the line dancing type," Howard said, sounding kind of anxious. He knew Bernadette would likely love the idea and if she found out and wanted to go he'd have no choice. He had to change their minds quick.

"You guys aren't the dancing type period!" Penny said, knowing that they couldn't deny that cold, hard fact. "Come on, it'll be fun! I already texted Bernadette and she wants in!"

"Well, looks like I'm going line dancing," Howard said decidedly, though he didn't seem too happy with the idea. "What about you guys?"

Raj shrugged. It was ok with him since he was probably just going to get drunk and dance like a maniac anyway. Four pairs of eyes turned to Leonard. "Oh, um… sure… Sounds fun?" he said with a hint of uncertainty. Poor Leonard, always eager to please.

"Perfect, then its decided! Shelly, you in?" Hannah asked her brother, despite already knowing the answer.

"Absolutely not. I've already planned to enjoy my solitude with episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and some time well spent on Age of Conan," he replied without a moments hesitation. In his mind there was no way he was going. In no universe did Sheldon Lee Cooper, PhD country line dance. "You can all line dance, hoedown, and imbibe in as many alcoholic drinks as you please, but I will be partaking in activities that are far more worthwhile."

"Shelly, can I talk to you for a moment?" Hannah asked as she stood up from the couch.

"Must I?"

"Yes. Now, please."

Sheldon got up and followed his sister down the hallway. The rest waited in the living room, only Penny having the slightest clue as to what was going on. A few minutes later, Hannah emerged looking smug and Sheldon followed looking equal parts scandalized and like he was going to try to blow her head up with his mind.

"Well. It appears as though I will be going to this 'country western' bar with you," he said, being sure to use air quotes appropriately at the words country and western. "But do note that I will not enjoy it."

"Aw, come on, Sheldon, you never know!" Penny urged with a little smile.

"On the contrary, I have a working knowledge of the universe and everything in it. I know," he said quite assuredly.

"Well, boys, Miss Penny here and I have to go get ready. Be ready to go in an hour!" Hannah ordered, before scooping up several items out of her suitcase and dragging Penny over to 4B where Bernadette was to meet them soon.

"So, Penny, are you going to find a hot cowboy to bring home tonight?" Bernadette asked rather suggestively, which sounded only cute coming from such a voice.

"Hmm? No, I think I'll just stick to the whiskey and the dancing tonight," Penny replied from the depths of her closet, which although not deep, was cluttered.

"Well, what about Leonard?" she replied from her perch on Penny's bed, knowing that would likely push the other blonde's buttons. Leonard and Priya had broken things off leaving her curious to see if the two would get back together again.

"No. No way. If I get super drunk, keep me away from him. I don't want him to think that I want to get back together," she replied hurriedly, emerging from her closet with a cute green plaid sundress in her hand.

"You dated Leonard?" came a third voice – Hannah's – from the bathroom where she was fixing her hair.

"Yeah, but it was awhile ago. I'm over it," Penny replied, holding the dress up in front of her. "What about this one?"

Receiving two approvals, Penny changed into the dress and appraised herself in the mirror. Yeah, she looked good. The dress hugged her in the right places, but wasn't slutty. Slipping on her old cowboy boots, she grinned and considered herself ready.

Hannah emerged from the bathroom after her dressed in daisy dukes and a blue plaid top left open to reveal a rather skimpy white tank top underneath. She, too, was sporting cowboy boots and had her short hair done messily but stylisly. Bernadette had come over ready, not quite prepared for country night but still her adorable self in a reddish orange dress and jean jacket. The three women emerged into the hallway just a few minutes after the men.

To their credit, Raj, Leonard, and Howard tried to dress accordingly. Bernadette coo-ed over her little cowboy who had somehow found a bolo tie to wear _with_ his usual dickie. Sheldon had come out in the same green lantern shirt, undershirt, and khakis he'd been wearing before.

"No. Go change. I know mama sent you some jeans, so go put 'em on," Hannah ordered, staring up at her brother who glared back down. The two retreated back into 4A briefly, allowing the remaining five to wait.

Penny briefly wondered how Sheldon would look in a decent pair of jeans. He was a good-looking guy, better than the rest of his friends. Sure, they were cute, but Penny knew first hand that when he dressed well, Sheldon was downright handsome. This was a fact that she had lately been thinking about more and more for some strange reason. When the door swung open a few minutes later, Hannah emerged with a grumbling, _normal_ looking Sheldon behind her.

'_Holy crap on a cracker…' _

Penny felt her jaw drop slightly, just as it had when he'd put on that black suit for the first time. There he was in a pair of dark jeans, God bless Mary Cooper for buying them, and a red, plaid button down shirt that he was currently rolling up to his elbows. Sheldon looked undeniably Texan and undeniably… kinda hot. Penny felt her cheeks heat up slightly as her mind wandered to slightly dirtier places.

"Hannah, I look ridiculous," he whined, tugging at the sleeve of his shirt. He hated jeans. They were so stiff and constrictive and this shirt was all sorts of uncomfortable.

"Oh nonsense! Look at Penny, I think she's thinkin' you look mighty fine," she replied with a smirk towards the blond who snapped out of it just in time.

"Yup! Lookin' good, cowboy!" she joked, though she really, _really_ meant it. Sheldon just frowned and continued to put as Leonard eyed her suspiciously. Finally, after a few more awkward moments of hanging out in the hallway, they all headed down the stairs and out to what was certain to be an interesting night.

* * *

><p>So there you have it. Sorry if this chapter was boring. Chapter three will be more exciting due to country bar shenanigans, I promise! Also, The Dirty Boot is a made up place. In my mind, it is a pretty sweet place and I wish it was real. More SheldonPenny moments coming too and probably less of Hannah. I'm just trying to establish her here first, then get into the fun stuff. (Also, I'm a little scared of writing the Shenny since I am so rusty in fic-writing. I'll do my best, I promise!)

As usual, suggestions, constructive criticism, advice, and of course praise are always loved in the form of PMs or reviews!

Also, congratulations to Jim Parsons for his second Emmy win! Yeah!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey all! I'm doing my best to keep my updates coming. College is hitting me hard right now, so I don't know how fast I can crank them out while maintaining "quality" but I'll try!

Thanks to all who reviewed, I was pretty amazed by the response! To those who are merely lurking by adding this to their alerts/favorites, thank you as well! I'm anticipating this to be a slightly longer chapter… Lots of little ideas were floating around in my mind.

A big thank you to country music for this chapter. Seriously. I listened to so much country music for this. So much. So. Much. Wow.

Onward!

* * *

><p>Sheldon hated loud music. Granted, the music at the Dirty Boot was a far cry from the booming, eardrum bursting bass heard at a regular club, but it was still above an acceptable decibel level. You could have a conversation comfortably, but the twangy sound of country music in the background was enough to turn him into a twitching mess for the first few minutes after entry.<p>

Once his ears had adjusted accordingly, the volume wasn't so much of a bother anymore. The rest, however, still was. While the rest of his party had wandered off presumably to explore these new surroundings, Sheldon had no desire to get to know this place further. It looked old and smelled of wood and stale beer. He didn't even want to think of all of the germs and bacteria lurking in all of its nooks, crannies, and puddles. He eyed a barstool suspiciously before settling onto it, making sure to keep the rest of his body out of contact with the actual bar and his hands in his lap.

Meanwhile, Bernadette had dragged Howard off to the small dance floor where they were both sort of bobbing together awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed in this new place. Raj was already one shot of whiskey deep and, with a beer now clutched in his hand, was attempting to use Howard's little "trick riding" pick-up line on an obviously disinterested girl.

His sister and Penny flounced up to the bar mere minutes after he had sat down, followed by Leonard who looked slightly uncomfortable. Sheldon, of course took no notice of this, and continued his steady, annoyed look.

"Aw, Sheldon you look like you're bein' punished!" his sister half laughed, half cooed mockingly at him.

"Yes, well, this isn't my idea of a rip roarin' good time," he replied with a stern look.

"Well, maybe this'll help!" came Penny's voice as she turned around from the bar with four little shot glasses in her hands. One for herself, one for Hannah, one for Leonard and one, which she shoved into Sheldon's unwilling hands.

"Penny, you know I don't drink!" he chided, looking down at the little shot glass and its contents with distaste written all over his features.

"Aw, come on sweetie! You're so much more fun when you do!" she replied with an impish grin.

"And how do you know this?" Hannah interjected, genuinely curious. She had never seen her brother go near an alcoholic drink, even on holidays.

"I've seen your brother drunk on two occasions. One time he ended up serenading the whole bar and the other he ended up pants-less and on YouTube!" Penny replied, unable to suppress a giggle at those particular memories. Both times she had been at fault, but it had been so, so worth it. Leonard looked rather amused, himself, but kept it in check.

"Yes, ha ha. Laugh at my humiliation," Sheldon replied flatly, still staring down at the brown substance in his glass. He sniffed it and immediately made a sour face. He began to analyze the likely percentage of alcohol in the liquid and if it would be enough to sanitize the bar should he decide to simply pour it out.

"Shelly, take it for Texas!" Hannah urged, holding her glass up for a toast. Leonard and Penny then mimicked the action. Sheldon, looking quite betrayed, held his glass up as well after some hesitation.

"I don't see why. Texas hasn't done much for me," he replied. The other three threw back their shots and each made a face and exhaled slowly as it burned its way down their throats. Looking at it suspiciously again, Sheldon bit the bullet and took the shot as he'd seen the others do it. He immediately began coughing as it went down, not used to the sensation that followed the actual swallowing of the liquor.

"Atta boy!" Hannah crowed, setting her shot glass on the bar to the picked up by a waitress.

Penny, Hannah, and Leonard then all ordered regular drinks – Whiskey Coke since it was on special – and headed off to the dance floor. Sheldon ordered a Diet Coke and remained where he was.

xoxoxo

The night dragged on for poor Sheldon. While the others were all learning line dances and drinking copiously, he sat and watched and waited to be taken home. Funny thing was… he didn't mind it so much. Curious. Surely that one whiskey shot hadn't made him _that_ drunk. Sure, he was a lightweight and it had made him feel a little warm and fuzzy, but he'd just been drinking Diet Coke since or so he thought.

As per his sister's instructions to the bartender, his drinks were to have light amounts of whiskey in them. Penny had told her of the time she had slutted up his diet virgin Cuba Libres and she'd taken it upon herself to do the whiskey twist on that (Not _too_ much. She wasn't so mean that she wanted to see him sick). Clearly it was working, as he wasn't whining about being forced there when anyone came over to him.

In fact, several women had approached him over the course of the evening, each one sent packing moments after speaking to him. This wasn't necessarily due to him shooting them down, but to them discovering he wasn't just some broody cowboy after he opened his mouth.

"Hey, sweetie, having fun?" came a familiar voice as Penny plopped down on the barstool next to him, looking a little tousled and out of breath, but like she'd been having fun. A blush covered her cheeks suggesting that she was, indeed, drunk, but didn't seem as sloppily drunk as he'd seen her before.

"Not particularly," he replied, the words coming out in a slower, more lilting tone than usual.

"Too much change, huh?" she asked with an impish grin.

"Penny, this is an extreme… dev-_iation _from my normal schedule," he replied, stumbling a bit over the longest word in his sentence. Penny's grin widened. She'd get him to have fun yet and if possible, to admit it. The tune playing then changed to what was surely a favorite for any country-themed bar.

"Oooh! Sheldon, come on! You know how to Boot Scootin' Boogie, right?" she urged, a small hand latching onto his wrist.

"Penny, I don't dance."

"You do too! You danced with Amy that one time! I saw it!"

"Penny, I don't line dance."

"That means you know how to, but just won't, right?" she pressed, her hand not letting go and attempting to pull him from his barstool. For someone so skinny, he was remarkably hard to move… either that or the alcohol was making her weak.

"Very observant. Now that you've figured that out, please remove yourself from my person," he requested, doing his best to give her a disapproving look.

"Nooo! You come dance with me," she replied, meeting his disapproving look with a stubborn one of her own. Her mind was made up on the matter and she gave one mighty tug before he finally just stood up. She stumbled back a few small steps, triumphant.

Sheldon walked swiftly towards the dance floor and looked expectantly at her. Problem was, now that she had him where she wanted him, she had no idea what to do. Penny stared at him blankly for a moment before trotting up beside him… just as the song ended. Mouth agape, she glared up at his amused expression.

"You! You knew that was going to happen!" she accused, stomping one foot on the wooden floor like a petulant child.

"Bazinga."

The song changed then, a newer one. She recognized the band, The Band Perry, but not the song. It was upbeat, not something you could line dance to but Penny didn't care. Marching right up until she was toe to toe with him, she placed one hand on his shoulder and grabbed his hand with the other. Sheldon, recognizing that she was attempting to get him into a dancing position, laid a hand on the small of her back very delicately, his hand borderline hovering instead of grasping her firmly.

"You're gonna dance with me anyway, got it?" she said, surprised when it was he that initiated movement instead of her. Oh, that's right. He did know how to dance. She'd just pestered him about that mere minutes ago.

"Yes. I've 'got it'," he replied, his tone unreadable. Penny scooted a little closer to him, just to see what would happen and when there was no reaction, she began to feel a bit braver. Just how close could she get before the song was over?

xoxoxo

From across the dance floor, another pair watched the two with great interest. Hannah had convinced Leonard to dance with her with far less difficulty than Penny had had with Sheldon.

"Never thought I'd see the day when he'd be dancin' willingly like that… and touchin' someone! Penny's really somethin'…" Hannah mused, amazed at her brother appearing so normal.

"Yeah… he's changed a lot since Penny moved in," Leonard replied, which caused Hannah to raise an eyebrow.

"There somethin' goin' on between them?" she asked suddenly, wondering if such a thing was even possible. Sure, she, Missy and their mother brought it up from time to time but it was more of a joke than anything.

"I… don't think so. Not yet, at least," Leonard said, watching them just as intently though his eyes seemed to be more trained on Penny than on Sheldon and just a touch more forlorn.

"Leonard… you jealous of them? I know you used to date Penny," Hannah said, feeling a bit guilty that she had brought the subject up.

"Wha- How-?"

"Word travels fast between girls."

"Oh," Leonard paused, looking pensive as he took another look at the two dancing towards the far corner of the floor. "No. It's weird but I'm ok with it. Penny and I tried and we didn't work. She should do what makes her happy."

"Well good," Hannah replied with a grin. " 'Cause you got an armful of cute girl right here so you'd better pay attention!"

The night wore on. Howard and Bernadette eventually got the hang of the line-dancing thing when they weren't making awkward public displays of affection. Raj had made friends with the mechanical bull in the corner, taking several rides and had gained the attention of several females who were cheering him on. Sheldon had danced his one dance and sat back down while Penny went to join Hannah and Leonard, all kind of bouncing in a circle.

All continued to drink, one unwittingly, until all three girls could barely stand anymore. There had been several more shots of varied liquors, toasted to various occasions: to break ups, to make ups, to new friends, to old friends, to the future, to the night, and just for the hell of it. They all took cabs home after last call, with minimal complaint from the mildly inebriated Dr. Cooper.

xoxoxo

The scene in 4A later that night was a strange one. Howard and Bernadette were both asleep on the couch and Raj had curled up in a little ball on the armchair, also sound asleep.

Hannah, mildly upset by the lack of couch for her to sleep on, had tried to go into Sheldon's room to take his bed but had been swiftly kicked out and warned as he left to help a very drunk Penny to her bed in her own apartment. Thus she had ended up in Leonard's room, in Leonard's bed, with Leonard. Neither seemed particularly uncomfortable with the arrangement, however. Both were so drunk, they had started falling asleep as soon as they hit the bed, conversation, much less drunken sex would be too much effort.

"Leonard," came a muffled half whisper from the other half of his bed. "Leonard, we can't have sex, ok?"

Leonard didn't even bother to open his eyes, and just replied with a sort of half-asleep grunt.

"I mean, it'd be bad right? We're both on the rebound," she continued, though the speech was slurred and she wasn't even sure he could hear her. "An' I'm not a wham, bam, thank ya ma'am kinda girl, ok?"

Leonard replied with an 'ok' and nodded into his pillow.

"Your girlfriend… why'd you break up with her?" she asked suddenly and without warning.

"Long distance. You?" he replied, though he knew he wasn't going to last that much longer in this conversation. There was a lot of hesitation coming from the other side of the bed.

"… He hit me," came her very quiet reply after a few moments of silence. "Left 'im the next day. All my stuff's in storage. I stayed with a friend for a few days then came here. Mama doesn't know I'm here, no one does. Leonard, please don't tell Sheldon, ok?"

Leonard was shocked and felt more sober than he'd been before they went out that night. She hadn't let on one bit that any of this had happened in the time she'd been there. She'd mentioned breaking up with her boyfriend, but not for such a serious reason.

"Hannah?" he questioned after the initial shock of learning such a secret wore off. He looked over at her and found that she'd fallen into a deep, booze induced sleep. Leonard sighed, rolled over and drifted off with the new knowledge that things weren't about to get any easier.

xoxoxo

In the apartment across the hall, two others were finishing up the night. Penny, clutching tightly onto Sheldon's arm, seemed to be continuously stumbling over thin air as he attempted to lead her to her bed.

"Sheldon?"

"Yes, Penny?"

"Remember what I said when I was hopped up on drugs when I hurt my shoulder?"

"I remember everything, Penny. To what are you referring?"

"When I said you were full of love. I meant that, you know?" she rambled as they crossed the threshold into her bedroom.

Sheldon eyed piles of dirty clothes with mild disgust as he pulled her towards her bed. He didn't reply to her comments as he was trying his hardest to not let her fall and get a concussion. When she'd landed safely in bed he merely instructed her to take off her shoes, which he refused to touch.

"You're my best friend, Sheldon. I mean that too!" she continued, removing one shoe and then the other before dutifully slipping into bed, still in her dress.

"Penny, I would tell you that you are my best friend as well, but I doubt you'd remember in the morning," he replied, finally prepared to take his leave for the night.

"Sheldon, wait," Penny said suddenly, causing him to pause in the doorway. "You could stay, you know? Your apartment is crowded…"

"Penny, I sleep in my bed, not yours. Staying here would only disturb my REM cycle. Goodnight," he said before passing through the doorway of her bedroom.

Had Penny been more sober she would have thought about he was probably the only man alive that would turn down an invitation to her bed. She hadn't even been inviting him for sex, which was relatively new for her as well. She would have pouted some, but as it was she passed into a deep, blissful sleep.

When she woke up the next morning, Sheldon had indeed gone back to his own apartment to sleep and she only had a vague memory of him being there in her room. The fact that he had even gone out with then that previous night was a sign that he was changing, for the better.

Looking at her night table to check the time, she was presented with a slight surprise. Next to her clock sat a tall glass of water and two aspirin. Penny smiled. Change was good.

* * *

><p>Oh man, that was long… at least, for me. I started writing and couldn't stop. Again, sorry the update took so long!<p>

I know from reviews that many of you were looking forward to Sheldon line dancing. I kept envisioning it in my head and every single time it was strange and kind of disturbing. I couldn't make him do it, but he danced nevertheless!

Hope the little taste of the Shenny in this chapter was a good one because there is more to come! Keep those reviews coming! Constructive criticisms, advice, suggestions and, of course, praise are always welcome!

Thanks for all the support so far!


End file.
